Life Of A Pet
by FangaWolfLover
Summary: Fanga the wolf pup never thought she'd be chased by her clan for wanting adventure. She never thought she'd run into a city and become a pet. Humans were dangerous, right? But maybe she'll like an easy life. Being kept by Grojband, befriending the coolest mutt on the block, and a pet's life has some perks. Fanga might want to stay, but is it worth putting her friends in danger for?
1. Lost and Found

**Okay, I decided to make a normal Grojband story (as in it isn't SUPERNATURAL with the band being wolves and stuff XD). I hope you enjoy!**

A small streak of brown darted between an endless pattern of trees. The creature's heartbeat pounded ceaselessly in those delicate ears; her maple brown fur, matted and unkempt, was bristling from fright. She could barely continue dodging the trees, her paws feeling so numb and ragged. Her legs were like toothpicks, barely supporting her weight, and she knew she wouldn't be able to run much longer.

The fresh, familiar scent of the forest quickly thinned. Something more abstract and unusual became the surrounding scent – something the wolf pup was not used to, and then the forest vanished in front of her altogether. In front of her rested a long strip of concrete. Chipped, blistering concrete, and the summer sun glared down mercilessly at it. The wolf pup cupped a paw over her sensitive nose and she squeezed her eyes shut in disgust; it reeked of pollution. It burned her sensitive nose and she could barely tolerate it.

The wolf snapped out of her daze when the faint crunching and rustling of leaves sounded behind her. She whirled around and shoved her ears forward in attention, listening fearfully to the approaching sounds. To add to her frightened state, voices barked above the noises of the forest.

"Where the heck did she get off to? Pups aren't supposed to leave the clan-grounds under any conditions!"

"Salty… I don't know why she sneaks away, but I thought you gave her permission: it happens so often… My apologies. I should have informed you sooner."

"Bite your tongue and walk faster already. We need to catch Fanga before she reaches forbidden territory."

The wolf pup's ears flattened against her head. She stood on the borderline of crossing into stench-filled streets or the lively forest. Fanga always ran off for adventure, and because she failed to keep it discrete enough, she had been chased to the one are she refused to go. It was the human civilization closest to her clan: Peaceville. Now, a decision weighed on her shoulders. She had to choose whether to run into the city, avoiding capture by her clan mates, or receive a high-scaled punishment. She knew punishment was unavoidable – truly, she did – but Fanga didn't want to suffer a consequence. She was just a pup.

So she raced down the blazing sidewalk, ignoring the horrible pollution singing her sensitive nose. _I can't get caught. _Fanga managed to avert the eyes of nearby people as she ran, and when she felt a pressuring gaze on her nape, she rashly swerved down into an alleyway. _I can't, I can't, I can't!_

The alleyway, packed with overflowing trash cans and holding not a ray of sunlight, led directly into a dead-end. If someone pursued the pup, she was doomed. Upon this grim awareness, Fanga's instincts pleaded for her to run. She walked thoughtlessly into a foreign place, cornered herself in a filthy alleyway, and she already lost perception on where the forest was. She was alone, surrounded by humans, and had absolutely no idea on what to do.

"Great…" She slouched into a sit, her tongue drooping out of her muzzle and lining with saliva as she heavily panted. "Now what?"

Out of everything, Fanga didn't like the rough texture of the concrete. It felt tough on her paw pads unlike the soft, damp soil of the forest. She regretted the decision already. Why was she out here? She needed to go home.

Even with this change of heart, no adrenaline or sense of adventure flooded the pup's scrawny figure. The alleyway reeked of decaying garbage, her jet black nose flared up from the horrible scents, and her heart matched the speed of a hummingbird's wing. She utterly loathed the environment and wanted nothing more than to return to nature, but she lowered her head in exhaustion. Fanga needed to rest. At least the alleyway had a cold atmosphere unlike the rest of the town, so she stumbled into one of the best options available for a rest.

Then, Fanga froze. Unusual sounds echoed in the distance; they seemed like voices, but she couldn't understand it.

"Whoa! Did you see that?"

"See what?"

They sounded dangerously nearby, too.

"It was like an overgrown rat, and it ran into that alley right there! Maybe it's a mutant! I've always wanted a mutant!"

A groan. "Shut up, Kin."

In total, Fanga heard four distinct sounds, and they gradually strengthened in volume as they approached. Fanga's feared instincts went on a yelling frenzy._ Run! Run! __**RUN!**_

The wolf pup couldn't run; the abnormal sounds completely paralyzed her in terror. Fanga quickly realized they were humans. Real humans –they would rip at her fur, cut skin, yank her tail: mutilate the poor pup beyond recognition. Fanga believed they would live up to the stories told at her clan, exaggerated tales created to convince pups to stay away from cities, and the wolf pup nearly howled in despair at the possibilities. Were they hunters? Poachers? No matter what, Fanga knew they were bad news.

The bassist rolled her eyes at the scrawny twin, irritated by his incessant ranting about mutated rats for pets. "Maybe there's a mad scientist in the sewers or something! Should we meet him? Ooh, or her? What if it's a girl? Do you think she'd be single?!"

Laney wanted to punch the smile right off his face. "Kin…" the redhead started, a foreboding tone threaded in her voice, "even if there is a mad scientist in the sewers, she'd find a fish more attractive than you."

Kon laughed. "Burn!"

Contributing to Laney's exasperation, Kin continued mumbling nonsense with crazier details. Then, when the four friends strolled by the alleyway's entrance, Kin insisted with evident desperation, "Let's check it out! Please, guys? Pretty please? Pretty please with a mutated rat on top?" Kon took on his twin's expectancy and excitement, and the two gazed up at their band leader with pleading expressions. When Corey shrugged in an uncaring manner, the drummer raced wildly after his twin, storming down the disgusting, rancid alleyway.

Corey and Laney had exchanged a momentary glance. The guitarist and bassist sighed before languidly following Kin and Kon; those two sure loved doing some freaky stuff.

Fanga howled in alarm and fright; it was a screechy, embarrassing, piteous howl that only a pup could create. She spotted two shadows stretching out on the sidewalk outside the alley, and the owners of them had whirled around and bolted into the alley. _I'm so doomed!_

When Kin and Kon reached Fanga, they held back by a few feet, staring down at the brown ball of fluff. The howl was so pathetic that it sounded like a squeak. "I knew it was a rat!" Kin yelled in glee. He assumed this based on the squeaky howl; he couldn't see Fanga properly in the darkness. Fanga had backed up between two garbage cans, afraid that they'd rip her limb from limb, so that further hid the wolf pup from view. Fanga honestly looked like a rat in some ways in her position.

Corey and Laney stood quite a ways behind the twins, uninterested in the creature they cornered. They didn't want to get involved; it was just a rat.

Why did Fanga run into the city? Any punishment that the Wildflower Clan chieftain could create seemed way better than encountering humans. They slowly diminished the distance between them and her. Closer… closer… ever so closer until Fanga felt certain that her heart would combust. Within the spur of the moment, she came to the conclusion that she had no other choice but to attack. She pounced at the twins, paws outstretched and blunted claws splayed out, and she barked a squeaky battle cry of sorts.

The idle chat between Corey and Laney ended, the two hearing Fanga's screechy bark. Kin and Kon sidestepped out of Fanga's path before she reached them. The twins carried awed expressions; it was such a large rat.

Still being exhausted, Fanga knew she wouldn't land right. When she shot past the twins and collided with sturdy concrete, made an audible thud, rolled for a short moment, and hastily pushed up into a sit. She sat only a foot away from the guitarist and bassist. Corey and Laney stared at Fanga. She stared back. It was an awkward moment.

Laney promptly noticed the fear blaring in the pup's yellow eyes. In the very depth of the alleyway with a lack of light, anyone could mistake Fanga for a rat, but now she came out closer to alleyway's entrance. The canine characteristics became obvious. "Whoa!" Corey shouted, abruptly shattering the uncomfortable silence. "That's a huge rat!" Not so obvious to Corey, apparently.

His voice was loud; acrid scents of trash infested the alleyway; and everywhere Fanga stepped, a section of concrete was musky, unclean, and disgusting on so many levels. Fanga was done and done with humans and their weird living quarters. She wanted to go home.

Laney bent down and placed her hands on her knees, staring calmly into Fanga's horrified eyes. Laney realized how scared the wolf pup was, and she wanted to help. The redhead held out her hand in an offering of friendship; she hoped Fanga would accept.

"What're you doing?"

"Shh!"

Fanga was concerned. Why was she doing that with her hand? What were they saying?

Their situation was strange. Awkward. Weird. Corey didn't know what to do, absentmindedly twiddling his thumbs, and then he noticed Kin and Kon sneaking up on Fanga. He just watched. Laney didn't notice the twins. Kon threw his hand down right when Fanga prepared to step forward, and the tired pup couldn't protest against it.

_Oh no,_ Fanga thought, panicked._ That was a distraction, wasn't it? That weird hand thing was just to distract me! _She squirmed vainly in Kon's boney hand and couldn't help but whimper uncontrollably.

Laney stood up to her full height, her arms directly down her sides as a glare of pure animosity materialized. Laney steeled herself and took a threatening step forward, causing both of the twins to flinch and cower back.

"What are you doing?!" The outraged girl pried Fanga from Kon's loose grip, almost defensively cradling the wolf in her arms. "You nearly chokedhim!"

Out of the small confrontation, the most uneventful thing Corey's bewildered state. He stood in such an awkward position. Although he was a natural leader, he didn't know what to do.

Laney scolded the keyboardist and drummer a little longer. Finally, Corey spoke up an unspoken question: "What do we do now?" Kin and Kon remained silent. They were afraid to speak up in front of Laney's wrath. Laney opened her mouth and nearly spoke, but then she quickly shut it: she had no idea.

What were they saying? Fanga didn't understand their words; she only could hear the emotions in their tones. Anger, fright… Fanga didn't like it. She was in a human's arms, and now she was really doomed. She thought she was about to die.

"We should take him home or something… you know, take care of him," Corey meekly suggested, shuffling his feet. Laney took his idea into consideration for a moment, still cradling the terrified pup in a motherly manner, before speaking up – very reluctantly, though. "Better than nothing."

Kin regained his confidence enough so he could talk. "I'll take him to my-"

Laney whirled around, glaring at the smaller of the twins. He shrunk down from her gaze:_ so much anger_. "I'm taking him to my house."

Again with the 'him'; Fanga slowly started understanding their language, and she didn't like being called a guy. It was offensive.

"No way do you get to keep him!" Kon complained. "It's not fair!"

"He's better with me than with you guys. You don't know how to take care of a dog."

"Uh… w-well, like you know!"

Corey felt so awkward. Laney was so frustrated. Kin and Kon weren't scared anymore and were ready to argue the day away. Fanga wanted the yelling to just stop. Her ears hurt. Her nose burned. Why did she have to go on adventures all the time? If she just stayed at the clan like she's supposed to, then she wouldn't even be in that dilemma.

"What about we just keep him in the garage?" Corey intervened.

The three Grojband members paused in their debate to consider his idea. Was there any better place? At least there wasn't anything bad about putting Fanga there. "Fine," they replied in sync.

She was going where? What's a garage? If only they thought about releasing her in the forest where she belonged, but no, they had to keep her. Fanga could barely understand them still, though. She just heard 'garage' being stressed in Corey's words and thought something bad would happen. Would they hit her with a garage? Eat her with a garage? What the heck was a garage? _Oh, wolf gods, please save me._

**I'm pretty sure a majority of my fanfics will have some sort of wolf reference in it. XD WOLVES ARE THE BEST! Hope you enjoyed… and, well, stay tuned in for the next chappie!**


	2. Doors Are Evil

**Back with a new chappie of Life Of A Pet! Let me admit I just made this fanfic up because I was REALLY bored over the weekend, couldn't use my laptop to work on the new Wild chapter, and I wanted to write SO bad… so here we go. I typed this in the spur of the moment on my dad's computer. And I'm in it, yay! This story won't be updated as much as my other one, though, seeing that Wild is my primary, so this will be a sort of side-project (I'm also going to write in a simpler format with this compared to my usual style, too). Well, enough chatting. Let's jump in, shall we? :D**

Fanga was confused. She could barely understand what was happening anymore: humans, trash, and unbearable scents everywhere. The wolf pup wanted to go home. Any punishment a wolf could think of was better than being touched by a human. Humans weren't good; they were evil creatures that only dominated because they killed others unnecessarily! She was being taken somewhere: somewhere horrendous, terrible, full of misery and suffering. Wherever she was being taken, she knew it wouldn't be good. She wasn't looking forward to whatever a garage was, either.

Laney stared down at the pup in her arms. The band walked casually down the sidewalk, heading for the garage. Corey lead the way, Laney lingered by his side, and the twins trailed them from behind. Fanga huddled up into a ball within Laney's grasp and gave off periodic whimpers, but surprisingly displayed no signs of aggression. She didn't bite, scratch, and had hardly attempted to escape. Laney couldn't help but ponder this; Fanga looked like a stray dog, especially with the temperament she had. But the yellow eyes… did dogs have yellow eyes? Dogs didn't usually have paws so big, either, and Fanga had very sharp fangs. If she wasn't a dog, though… Laney didn't know.

Corey soon flung open the garage door and held it, generously allowing his friends to walk in before letting it fall close. Laney settled the shivering ball of fur on the green couch. Fanga showed no response whatsoever. Kin and Kon stared at the wolf pup in wonder; why did she just sit there?

"Maybe she's scared…" Kin suggested.

"Or hungry," Kon added.

"Possibly hurt or tired."

"Or hungry."

"Maybe it'll take time to adjust!"

"Or hungry."

All their theories were correct. She was scared, hurt, tired, and wasn't at all adjusted to the new room. And, yes Kon, she was hungry. Truth be told, Fanga's nerves were so shot that she didn't notice Laney putting her down. Where was she? What happened to the sunlight blazing down on her? She was in some sort of animal torture chamber, wasn't she? Oh wolf gods, she was doomed. She wouldn't even open her eyes to check her surroundings; she was too afraid to do so. Maybe she would see something that she'd regret, too.

The band had gathered around on the stage, all of their legs dangling off the side of it. They would've been on the couch but Fanga wasn't exactly trustworthy yet. Why didn't she move?

"So, now what?" Kon asked. Everyone glanced at Corey for guidance.

The blue-haired guitarist tapped his chin in thought, his eyes drifting close only to shoot wide open. "Let's keep him!" he exclaimed. "He can be Grojband's mascot… we can use him for a gig at the Peaceville Pet Store and other pet-friendly places!" He was throwing his hands in the air overdramatically, his bright blue eyes glittering from the excitement. "Kid birthday parties, dog parks, and animal fundraisers! Just imagine the possibilities!" Kin and Kon high-fived while yelling _awesome!_ The three thought the idea was beyond clever: ingenious.

Laney wasn't on the same page; she may have always gone along with Corey's wacky schemes, but using Fanga as some sort of promotion? Being the animal-loving redhead she was, she couldn't accept that idea. "But he's just a dog… I think?" She wasn't sure anymore. "Why use him for something so... demeaning?"

Corey raced over and slung his arm around Laney's shoulders, pulling her close and pressing his cheek against hers. In Corey's perspective, it was a friendly gesture. To Laney, though… let's just say her heart was on a beating frenzy and her cheeks tinted pink. "Don't worry about it, bro! We'll take care of him, give the best treatment we can, et cetera!" He pushed her way, also as a friendly gesture, but also in a slightly rude way. He remained oblivious to the rude part, though. The push was enough to snap Laney out of her stupor. _What did he just say…? Stupid daydreams._

Fanga cracked open an eye; their voices sounded far. Were they leaving? Fanga's thoughts raced back to her, instinctual thoughts; ones that kept whispering the word s_urvive _and _run _as her awareness increased. _You're free. _Fanga's eyes opened and widened as her hackles rose. _Run! They're far away! They won't see you escape! To the forest! _Fanga slowly climbed to her paws; they weren't even staring at her. Why was that kid pressing his face against the redhead's, though? _Run! Run before they see you're up!_

She obeyed her instincts. The brown pup leapt off the couch, dashing as fast as her little paws could carry her along the garage's cold pavement. The four musicians didn't notice. Fanga continued to dart around, following her faint scent trail to figure out where she entered this strange room. When she thought she almost reached the exit, she collided with a metal wall. The wolf pup jumped back, suddenly baffled.

_What the?!_ She raised a paw and pointed it accusingly at the garage door. She had followed her scent; she entered the room from that metal object. What sort of human device was it? Why was she trapped? She came from there! "Let me out!" Fanga decided to use brute force and, foolishly, ran muzzle-first into the garage door. She didn't gain a better result; her nose stung like crazy. First the terrible smell from the alleyway, and then Fanga rammed her nose into something. Telling by the whimpering, she wasn't having any fun.

Kon was first to hear the weak, shrill whimpers Fanga let off. He was the only one to notice though; the others were deep in conversation. They just began to argue about Corey's inability to make good lyrics, which happed periodically despite whatever the previous topic had been. "Um… guys?"

"I'm just saying," Laney continued, barely batting an eye at Kon, "we can't rely on Trina's diary forever. What if she goes to college, or figures out we keep looking into her private life?"

"Or worse… figure out we're the main reason she always goes into Diary Mode?!" Kin shivered at the idea. Trina's animosity would've been scarier than the temper of the greatest god that Rocklympus had to offer. "She'd kill us!" Kin brought Corey's face close, a frightened expression on the scrawny twin's face. "Kill_…_" He whispered it in such a way as if Trina stood right beside them.

Corey pushed him away, giving an uncaring shrug and smiling goofily. "She won't find out!"

"Guys!" Kon persisted. To his relief, he finally managed to get someone's attention.

"What?" Corey replied.

Kon pointed at the garage door. Fanga was quietly whimpering to herself, and it was only audible if you took a moment to listen. Since their discussion temporarily halted, Laney and Kin noticed the whimpering, too; all the Grojband members stared confused at Fanga. The wolf pup wasn't aware of the eyes on her. She just wanted to go home.

"I'll get him," Laney promptly said, already down from the stage and heading in Fanga's direction. One of Fanga's wolf ears twitched at the sound of the footsteps. Uh oh.

When the redhead bent down to pick Fanga up, the pup had darted away and scrambled aimlessly towards the stairs. Laney sighed and stared at the fluffy ball of brown, jogging after the frightened canine. "Core, help me get 'im!"

Corey jumped off the stage and followed. "Comin', Lanes!" Kin and Kon ran right behind him, also ready to lend an extra hand. With Corey and Laney's attentions fully glued to Fanga, the twins fist-bumped; they were confident this would be one of those comical chases: the ones you saw in old movies. How exciting!

Fanga heard their footsteps. They were chasing her! Fanga was scared even more; she picked up the pace, her paws like a small blur of maple brown, and she finally approached the first step of the stairs. She never saw the climbing structure before, let alone knew how to use it. Fanga didn't want to run up; they looked dangerous. However, she knew that her captors rapidly closed in, and using the weird mass of wood held her only chances at escape. She shakily placed both forepaws on the bottom step. The wolf pulled herself up; her small hind legs kicked around weakly as she went up, her tail wagging along with it. The step was so big it was half her height and she couldn't help but have trouble.

She was on the top of the bottom step. Fanga did it! She silently cheered for about a millisecond before realizing there were twelve steps left. She already knew that she wasted precious time for fleeing; Laney reached the wolf pup, standing right in front of the stairs. The bassist was thankful; Fanga running off almost turned into a wild goose chase. The bassist reached down for the pup to gently pick her up, and Fanga looked up at her with a haunted look. She would've been grabbed, too, if it wasn't for Kon. He mindlessly lunged; he didn't see Fanga quite clearly with Laney in the way, so he thought Fanga was about to dart off again. He rudely shoved their band's manager to the side and nearly crushed the scrawny wolf pup.

_Oh no._ What was happening? Fanga's eyes actually shrunk to barely noticeable dots as the big shadow loomed over her. She, was, doomed.

_Move! Dodge! To the side!_ Snapping out of her shocked stupor, Fanga obeyed and scampered as close as she could to the railing. Kon body slammed where Fanga previously stood. Kon's shoes rested sprawled on the bottom step while his face had planted down around the fifth. Fanga caught sight of her lucky opportunity; she could avoid her captors a little longer. Maybe she could escape as well!

Fanga leapt on top of Kon's plush, aching body and ran up onto his battered, black hair. She tensed the muscles in her hind legs and pounced upwards; both of her forepaws secured onto one of the steps. She pulled herself up, her hind legs and tail squirming beneath her like before, and Fanga was up. She observed her position on the wooden mass; she just advanced three steps! Fanga had about three or four more to go before reaching the top. Maybe there was an open window…

Kin, Corey, and Laney still stood at the bottom of the staircase. They face-palmed; Kon was such a klutz at the worst times. "S-Sorry…" Kon winced as he clambered to his feet. "I thought he was about to get away." He rubbed the back of his neck, creating an excuse to avoid eye contact. "Oops."

"Bro…" Kin sighed, lightly shaking his head. "…not, cool."

Corey, letting the other band members talk, skipped up the staircase two steps at a time. They really needed to start band practice soon, and he wouldn't wait for everyone else to help catch Fanga.

Fanga adjusted to walking up the steps rather quickly. She was only one step away from the top when Corey moved into reaching distance. Fanga tried leaping up a step for the last time until she discovered she couldn't use her legs anymore; they were being held back by a furless paw. Fanga turned her head as much as she could in Corey's grip. Realizing what happened, she emitted something resembling a questioning whimper. "Oh come on!" Fanga whined. "Put, me, down!" No one understood her. Everyone only heard high-pitched yips.

"Got him!" Corey turned around with a triumphant smile, ready to return to his friends, put Fanga in a cage or something, and then start practice. If they were going to get future gigs, they needed to sound good at them.

She acted swiftly; Fanga bit down on Corey's thumb, releasing an agitated growl while doing so. Corey gasped and yipped from the sudden pain, loosening his grip. Fanga took the chance and pushed out her legs with all the might in the pup's tiny body. The little flash of brown dropped out of Corey's hand, landing on the top of the stairs, and she scuttled. The guitarist was so busy on keeping his balance on the stairs that he couldn't get catch her in time. Fanga was running down the wooden walkway, holding her head up high in pride. If one of the doors were open, Fanga believed she would be home free.

Well, there weren't; all the doors were closed. Fanga ran up to the closest door and tackled into it, believing that the strange wooden wall would let her pass. It didn't budge; Fanga was out of luck. _Stupid wall! _Fanga thought, her desperation obvious. Why were doors so evil? They just took any chance Fanga had at escape, crumpled it up into a ball, burned it, and let the ashes fly away with the wind.

Corey was soon by the angry pup, getting Fanga in a grip in such a way that she couldn't bite him again. Without wasting time, he hurried down the staircase to where Laney solemnly held up a dog cage; she found it beneath the stairs. It was a bit small for Fanga, but they didn't have anything else.

Fanga gulped. The cage didn't look good.

What was she? Some sort of prisoner? No one wanted to put Fanga in a cage, but they didn't want her to run away, either. If she somehow managed to get back on the streets, Fanga wouldn't get five feet. It was for the best.

Well, during that whole mess, they realized Fanga was a girl. How exactly? Doesn't matter. Laney did feel a little guilty for not noticing sooner; after all, she was confused for a dude all the time. When she looked at the situation from the perspective of the wolf pup, she realized sadly how unfair the wolf was being treated. The redhead pounded a fist into her open palm with a determined look; when she got home, she would somehow convince her mom to buy supplies for the pup.

Fanga was angry. No, not just angry: infuriated. They locked her up! It was like the smallest den ever, but it had no exit. How did she even get in without some way to enter? Fanga soon figured out how; there was another one of those magical walls, except this time is had the form of a metal grate. How long would she exactly be in there? Fanga knew humans were evil, so probably for a long time. The wolf pup just wanted to go home.

"Okay, let's start off from the top," Corey called. "What about we play 'Bark at the Moon'?"

Laney's eyes darkened at a memory of the song. "That's from Ozzy Osbourne."

"Uh… so?"

"They say he bites the heads of bats!"

"But it's about dogs! Or… wolves? Either way, it suits today a bit… let's just give it go. Kon, count us in!"

Both of the Kijura's had no objection. Kon tapped his drumsticks together, loudly counted to four, and Corey opened the song by shredding some killer guitar riffs. Fanga's ears fell limp against her head from the sound. Corey then started to sing; he did so in a screeching, hardcore-metal way. _"Screams break the silence! Waking from the dead of night!"_

Fanga's eyes completely widened. Her ears felt like they were being clawed at; what was she listening to?

"_Vengeance is boiling! He's returned to kill the light~!"_

Fanga howled out in pain. Her ears were a victim of assault! Corey's voice was off-key, he mostly played the wrong notes, and the other three band members also played badly due to their lead singer's horrible impression of a metal-head… Corey did say they needed to practice. It had been the first time in months they played a metal song, too, explaining the terrible performance.

A couple of minutes crawled by. Fanga cowered in the back of her cage, eyes dilated, and her ears plastered to the back of her head. Fanga's paws pressed tightly against her flattened ears during the entire piece. How long was it lasting? It may have only been a few minutes, but it seemed like hours of torture to Fanga. This just added to the pup's belief that humans were insane and vindictive beasts.

Corey ended the song with one of the best riffs out of the entire song. As the final note hummed away into awkward silence, Corey frowned. "That… didn't go so well."

Laney was angry. Kin was annoyed. Kon's fingers hurt from how much drum notes there were in the song. Kon stared with a pained look at his fingers while Laney and Kin glared at Corey, who weakly smiled. "Uh… sorry. We never did that song before… what about we try something we're used to? Hehe?" They weren't going to do anymore metal or rock songs in a while. They'd stick to pop and rock for a bit.

And poor Fanga. Her ears wouldn't stop ringing and her fur stood on end. Her pelt wouldn't stop sticking up until the end of the day.

**Bleh, I rushed this, so I'm sorry if it isn't the best quality. Ha, poor me (since I'm being tortured by humans!)… I actually like Ozzy. But I needed to suffer in this one way or another, and I wanted a song about wolves that could really hurt a canine's ears if played wrong. :3 I'm cruel.**

**Until the next chappie, have a bodacious day!**


	3. Stray

It soon became time for everyone to head home. Kin and Kon gave the flash of their hands as a goodbye. Laney and Corey ended up talking for a couple minutes before the bassist left; during her departure, she carried a lovey-dovey expression. There was no wonder why with Corey in the room. Fanga didn't understand what was happening with all of that, though. Corey kept pushing his face against hers and placed an arm around her shoulder. Then Laney always had glossy eyes, red cheeks, and appeared to be in some sort of daze. It was weird. All humans were weird. It confused Fanga.

The wolf pup was _still_ stuck in the cage. She had grown to like it a bit, honestly; she was in there for a couple hours without any human contact. After being grabbed and stared at all day, it felt nice to be ignored. It had to be torment towards the beginning, though; Grojband started off with an ear-splitting song and Fanga writhed around in pain all day. She even considered rampaging in her prison till she lost consciousness, stressed beyond belief due to the torture they victimized her to. However, she decided otherwise when the songs became mellower. It faintly reminded her of an ancient wolf celebration called the _Fewlm_: when a wolf clan or pack gathered under a full moon and sang at the sky with the many voices synchronized. Fanga always adored the tradition; the howls and barks sounded like the nicest melodies. And Grojband's music wasn't that far from it; well, at least a few of their songs came close. A couple made no sense, some were irritating, and others sounded like a random selection of notes shoved into no particular order.

The garage door dropped close. Corey patted his hands together and locked up the place tightly. There was no way Fanga would escape if he let her out of the cage. The lead singer walked towards the half-asleep canine and opened the metal door, showing a warm, welcoming smile. "C'mon, girl," he cooed, clapping his hands together with a short whistle. It snapped Fanga from her exhaustion temporarily and her goldenrod eyes opened wide.

Corey stepped away from the opened cage and walked upstairs, feeling satisfied that Fanga was free from her prison. Corey then rubbed one of his eyes with a balled up hand; he wasn't the only one who was tired. A few hours of band practice could surely knock his energy away. When he entered his room and closed the door, Fanga exited her prison and surveyed the surroundings. Fanga was alone.

Her mind took a moment to wake up. She'd been locked in a little steel and plastic prison all day with nothing to do. Her legs were limp and sore, her muzzle still ached somewhat from smacking into the garage door earlier, and all four paw pads hurt from adjusting to concrete. _Fanga just wanted to go home…_

The pup's ears suddenly pricked. Fanga was free! She could just run upstairs again and slip through an open door, and then she would be wild again, right? No one was there to stop her! Her determination returned at a rapid pace. She couldn't wait to return to the Wildflower Clan!

The pup started to search. She first stumbled up the stairs and wandered along the small, wooden walkway while nosing at the doors. She mentally pleaded one to be open, but her hopeful prayers weren't answered, so Fanga went back to the cold concrete at the bottom of the stairs and darted around. _There has to be something!_ Yet she received no luck. The garage door was closed, all windows weren't even a sliver-ways open, and she found no other exits. She still refused to give up; she double checked every single hole and spider web, hoping she overlooked something, but it proved to be futile. Fanga was trapped inside with no chances for escape.

Fanga was horrified. She was actually stuck in there for the entire night! She thought she would've been able to escape when it got dark but, apparently, she couldn't. However, that hardly affected her hope. She still harnessed determination for breaking out of that accursed room.

The she-wolf paced. During the pacing, she thought. In those thoughts were turning gears. Fanga needed some sort of plan to escape her confinement, but all doors were closed, all windows were shut tight, and Fanga was half-asleep. Steadily, her willpower began to ebb away. Would she ever break out?

She was doomed. She'd never escape. Fanga slumped down to her stomach and threw her forepaws up so they covered her weary eyes; she was going to cry. But then-

"Why so sad, lil' pup?"

Fanga tensed up; did she just hear someone? No, she was hearing things… Fanga shook her head dismissively and went back to her whimpering state.

The female voice, however, spoke up once more. "Can ya hear me?"

There was no way Fanga was imagining this; someone was in the room with her. She pulled her forepaws away and stood up to full height, faking a confident and prideful look. She turned around to find the speaker, but she saw no one. "Wha…"

"Up here!"

Fanga finally discovered where the voice originated. Fanga's eyes trailed up until it landed on the top of a bookcase where a sleek canine stood. Near the top of the bookcase sat an open window; Fanga had been sure it was closed earlier. The stranger was a dog, slightly smaller than a fully grown wolf, and she wore a black leather collar studded with silver gems. She had thick, light gray fur with a black zigzag pattern on the midpoint of her tail. A dark, crusty brown stained all four paws as if they were caked with mud, and she had black markings around her eyes and striped around her neck. There was a strange, mischievous twinkle in her icy blue eyes, as if a small flash of starlight, and Fanga couldn't help but stare. "How did you… how'd you get in here?" Fanga's voice already cracked and pitched. The stranger was so much bigger than her; what if she decided to attack?

The dog used one of her mud-furred paws to point at the open window. "The answer is obvious." She held an impish grin as she circled on the bookcase, all the while keeping a playful skip in her steps. "Now, why so sad?"

Fanga didn't want to answer. Wolves never showed weakness; they weren't allowed to, so there was no way Fanga would say she nearly cried. She was a proud pup of the Wildflower Clan; she didn't have to admit anything to some nosey mutt. "Just leave me alone. I'm not sad!"

The gray-and-black canine smirked. "Then what are you?"

The defensive wolf growled as fiercely as a pup could. "I'm Fanga!"

The stranger laughed. She was clearly amused by this pup; it seemed like Fanga was only a few weeks old! "And I'm Stray… guess it's nice to meet you?" She giggled softly as she sat down on her haunches. Stray was confident it'd be an interesting conversation.

Fanga didn't want to talk to Stray. How did she even get in? Fanga wasn't able to reach that window from inside, let alone from the exterior; plus, it had been closed earlier. "How'd you get through that magic rectangle?"

Stray had to laugh yet again; was this pup referencing the window? What kind of pet didn't know what a window was? "It's a window," she giggled, "and there was a ladder against the wall. Your owner probably brought it out some time ago and forgot to put it away… I was walking around when I heard your whimpering, and I had to know if it was animal abuse, so I pushed the ladder into place under this – luckily – unlocked window. I nosed it open… and that's how I'm here." Stray's smile turned into one of triumph. Few dogs had the brains to use human objects for their own benefits, and the dog was ready to hear Fanga's impressed remarks.

But the little wolf was confused. Due to Stray's description, Fanga mixed up windows with doors, and the pup was astonished that people could somehow lock the window-door-things. By locking, did she mean close? But the window was already closed – Fanga saw it! And what was a ladder? Her scrambled brain spun circles in an attempt to understand Stray's words, but she couldn't comprehend any of it.

The clever canine stared at Fanga in puzzlement. She looked like she had a headache or accidently ate some chocolate. What a strange dog. Stray tried to keep things upbeat, though, and chimed through Fanga's deep thinking. "Now can you tell me why you're so sad?"

"What's a ladder?"

Stray lost her smile. She may have been a little amused before, but Fanga's lack of knowledge was just ridiculous. "It's, uh… two long sticks connected by a bunch of smaller sticks, and people climb the smaller sticks for reaching high places." Maybe Fanga hadn't been taught these things yet; Stray had so many questions she wanted to ask. "Fanga, why were you-"

"Like a giant log?"

That's was it; Stray lost her temper. She got up from her sitting position and stood tall. Her fur stood on end, creating a menacing appearance, and she exhibited her anger through exposed teeth. Fanga took a step back, clearly intimidated. It was like her fur went from perfectly relaxed to the appearance of several tiny daggers.

The frightening factor of situation was more intense in Fanga's head than in reality. Her mind played tricks due to her drowsiness; truthfully, Stray's fur only slightly stuck up and teeth were partially bared. Fanga, being in a half-asleep status and being in a dark room, was convinced that Stray was about to leap down and attack.

"S-Stay away!" Fanga didn't want to be there. She wanted to go home.

Stray instantly cut short her low, almost inaudible growl, and Fanga's muzzle snapped shut. Stray didn't know she could scare the pup so easily. She let her frustration rumble away as she took in a more peaceful composure, and she quickly addressed the frightened wolf. "Fanga, Fanga!"

The pup was so on edge. Just when Fanga was warming up, Stray _had_ to lose her patience, and the dog felt guilty for it. She couldn't help it; her temper was one of her biggest flaws.

Eventually, she got her words through. When Fanga calmed, she rubbed a paw against one of her droopy eyes, and her frizzed-up tail fur slowly flattened. Stray briskly explained some things to Fanga; the dog she used to be a stray before a teen took her in, and the person named her Stray because he found her as one. Stray explained that she always snuck out through a gap in her backyard's fence, which she had access to from a doggy door no matter what the time. She loved to leave the backyard due to the thrill of being out late at night. Stray usually found several exciting things to do that reminded her of when she was absolutely free, but she never left her owner permanently because she loved him very much.

But, of course, there were so many things Stray needed to explain in the utmost detail to Fanga. For example, what was a stray dog? What were mix breeds, backyards, doggy doors, and fences? Of course there were a few things the pup already understood like the thrill of being free. However, the one thing Fanga didn't seem to grasp was why Stray didn't stay free permanently. "Why don't you go into the forest or stay on the streets? So you can escape your human's captivity?" the wolf pup asked. Stray explained that Fanga was too new at being a pet, so she needed to spend some time with her humans before she'd understand.

Fanga was tired by the end of their discussion. She badly wanted to find a place to sleep in the garage; she would give up escaping for the night. According to Stray, if the mutt could sneak off every night, then Fanga's opportunity for leaving wasn't far away. Fanga could've tried for the window Stray came through, but there was a good reason that Stray didn't jump down from the bookcase: there was no way back up. Fanga also needed sleep; when the time of running away from the treacherous humans would arrive, she needed to be well rested. However, to her dismay, Stray refused to leave and wouldn't let her sleep yet.

"I didn't come here for a chat," Stray harshly growled. Fanga almost thought she would snarl again. "If I'm telling you all of this stuff, you need return the favor."

She was right. Wolves had respect, so did dogs, and Fanga knew she had to prop herself awake a little while longer. "What do you want to know?" Fanga asked.

"Well… how long have you've been here? What breed are you? Are you adopted from the Peaceville Pound?"

Fanga huffed in both amusement and anger. She didn't recognize Fanga as a wolf? How could she not?! "I'm _not_a dog," the offended pup snapped.

Stray lifted an eyebrow and stared at Fanga with disbelief. The way Fanga said it was almost like dogs were scum. "And what are you exactly, then?" she persisted.

"I'm Fanga; a noble wolf of the Wildflower Clan!"

The dog lost her smile. Stray narrowed her eyes and leaned her head towards Fanga slightly as if to study her. "You're… a wolf? Apart of a clan?" _What's a clan?_Stray wondered. Just like how Fanga had no idea what human stuff was, Stray didn't have a clue about Fanga's wolf terms. However, Stray decided to not ask what a clan was to spare themselves from more explanations.

"Yes, and I'm not supposed to be in this mucky city of yours. I've only been here a day and I can hardly stand it." Fanga's snout wrinkled up in disgust; the scent of pollution wafted fresh in her nostrils.

Stray was resentful. How dare Fanga insult her home? The dog barely restrained herself from arguing; she was intrigued on how Fanga got into her 'mucky' town in the first place, and bickering would just make the wolf clam up. "So… where did your humans find you? How did you wander into my little town?"

The wolf pup was stressed. Instead of 'how did you wander into', Fanga thought Stray should've worded it as 'how did you get trapped in'. Why wouldn't Stray just leave her alone? Fanga needed her rest.

Fanga inwardly sighed. She also needed to stop complaining about everything. The sooner she answered the questions, the sooner she'd be asleep. After stifling a yawn, Fanga began to cooperate. "My 'humans' found me in this strange place somewhere outside that lead to nowhere. It was filled with gray bins that were made of really hard rock, and it was filled with stinky human garbage." She hated to say that first part. Saying that she was possessed by such foolish creatures was beyond shameful.

It took a minute, but Stray understood that Fanga described a trash can. If the place was outside and it had no end… that could've been anything. If it was filled with trash cans, however, than Stray figured it to be something like an alleyway: good guesser. "Why are you in this town in the first place?" That was what the dog wanted to find out about the most. Her gray and black tail swished around, her ears pricked in wait of the answer.

Fanga tried her best not to let her ears droop; she refused to show the pain she felt. "I was running… from my clan mates. I sneak away from the home sometimes, for adventure, but this time they chased me. They cornered me by the city's edge… and I wasn't thinking clearly when I ran in. I lost them, but I was captured and taken into this… garage." Tears brimmed in Fanga's eyes. _I just… want to go home._

The agile dog sat stiffly on the bookshelf. Fanga's eyes were shimmering with tears, and Stray felt horrible for making Fanga depressed. The Wildflower Clan had sounded too hostile to Stray, though. Just like how Fanga didn't understand Stray's love for humans, Stray didn't understand how a wolf family could be so mean. Why would Fanga be depressed about leaving a bunch of rogues?

Fanga felt relieved in a vague way. It felt great to tell someone about the terrible feeling of being captured. Even if Stray didn't understand her pain that much, it felt good to share it. "Tha… thanks, Stray," the brown pup mumbled, quickly drying her eyes. "It feels good to talk about this."

The gray-and-black dog's fur stood on end from her words, but Stray quickly forced her pelt to lie flat. Fanga was finally putting aside her stubbornness to act kind. It was nice they were beginning to get along. "You're welcome." A small bond formed between the two canines. It started out roughly, but they became friends.

The ominous hooting of an owl outside interrupted their conversation. Stray faced the small window she had entered fromm and sighed. She was wasting her night in a cramped, stuffy garage instead of dashing around somewhere such as the Peaceville Park with the wind in her fur. Stray glanced down at Fanga, reminding herself of her tired state. They both knew it was time for Stray to leave.

"Is it okay if you come back tomorrow night?" Fanga abruptly inquired. Fanga wasn't sure if she'd be there tomorrow night, but there was no doubt that the day would be crazy. If Fanga didn't escape by the next day and it would be as crazy as she believed it to be, the wolf pup would need someone to share it with. After all, Stray was the only one she'd met so far that understood her, and Fanga would be unable to keep feelings bottled up inside her.

"Sure," Stray gingerly agreed. She waved farewell with her mud-furred paw and slipped out the window. The last thing Fanga saw was the flick of her gray tail tip and she was gone. Fanga was alone again.

Fanga instantly found the comfiest place to sleep: the garage's green couch. The wolf pup eventually started drifting into a dreamless sleep. _I hope I'll survive the brutal day tomorrow. Or better yet… I'll escape and return to the clan!_There was a pang in Fanga's heart at the last thought. That meant she'd get the punishment of the century back at her clan, and she would lose her new friend. Stray was unlike the wolves at Fanga's clan; she was nice, caring, and didn't treat Fanga like a brainless pup.

As Fanga fell asleep, she was uncertain.

**EEEEP. I rushed this so sorry if there are any mistakes, and I think I ended this chapter terribly, but I'm exhausted and just want this finished. Q-Q I felt terrible for not uploading something in so long, so… here ya go. :) But for fans of my other Grojband fic "Wild," that is the next thing on my to-do list: getting a new chapter up. So thanks for reading~**


	4. Cuckoo Coconut

**Hello! Here's a new chapter after five-ever. ^^ In this chappie, I try my hand (paw? X3) out with onomatopoeia, which is a literary device for describing sounds such as bark, hiss, sizzle, screech, etc. Also, yay for this being my first chapter of the New Year! March isn't too late, right…? So without further ado, let's start the chapter! :D**

Fanga hardly slept that night. Her thoughts droned on restlessly about the mysterious canine that had visited her, the black-furred mixed breed, the nimble and admirable mutt… Fanga could _not_ clear her mind of Stray. Despite the previous day's trifling adventures and discoveries, the poor wolf pup just couldn't sleep after her midnight visit, even with the plush texture of the garage's couch providing more comfort than any cave could have.

Eventually, her leaden eyes pinched shut and a dreamless sleep overtook her. Within hours, however, she suffered a rude awakening. It started with Fanga rolling around in her sleep…

_Ssssffffffftttttt… ssfffffssssffffftttttttt…_

…and she whined at inconsistent intervals, seemingly in pain…

_Rrrrrrr, hrrrrr, hrrrrrrrrr…_

…then with an unconscious grunt, she roughly flipped over in her sleep and-

**SMACK**

-flopped heavily against the concrete.

The following cry of pain that tore out of Fanga's maw – _"Rrrrrooowwwww!"_ – triggered Corey's eyes to flutter upstairs. He stared at his room's ceiling for a moment, his hazy thoughts quietly registering the pained, raspy sounds of Fanga's pitchy howls. When he recalled the events prior to bringing the scrawny pup home, he tumbled out from beneath his covers, messily patted at his mild bedhead, and ultimately disguised his tangled mess of dark blue hair with a signature beanie before rushing into the garage.

Exiting his bedroom led him straight onto the raised walkway against one of the garage's walls, so he didn't have to meander far to spot Fanga. She lay unceremoniously on the ground in a fetal position, half her mind refusing to snap awake. Due to her dazed state, Fanga remained in that awkward pose, pain lancing through her shoulders from the fall, the pup immobile. Frightened by Fanga's soft whimpers and stillness, Corey bolted across the wooden walkway, tottered down some stairs, and raced over to Fanga's side. Hesitant at first, Corey lifted her into his arms and cradled her awkwardly, trying but failing to comfort the ailed canine.

Fanga's eyes drearily panned upward, locking onto Corey's worried one. The pup's whimpers died off. A moment of silent tension passed between them as Fanga narrowed her amber eyes.

"I hate you."

Corey scratched her lightly between the ears, misreading the message. "You're safe with me, buddy!"

She growled. "Go get mauled by a bear."

"Aw… someone's hungry?"

Before she could bark out another insult, he gently placed her on the ground and made his way for another room. She didn't lift her heated glare from him until he had ambled out of sight. "Stupid human…" She leapt up onto the couch and slowly fell into a sit, angrily eyeing the kitchen's doorway. "It won't understand a thing I say, can't even figure out I want to go home…"

Her biased judgment for Corey rapidly diminished, her thoughts swaying onto a similar topic.

_Why am I not home?_

She wanted to dismiss the thought right as it crossed her mind, but the notions stubbornly stuck true to the pup.

_Why do I sneak away from home all the time?_

_Why had I disobeyed the laws of the clan?_

_Where are my parents? How do I escape?_

_Is everything my fault?_

Fanga gulped, eyes glittering with tears.

A rattling sound jolted through the garage. Ears pricked and hackles raised, the startled wolf pup frantically began searching for the noise's source, briefly forgetting her sadness. A pale hand shakily heaved the garage's metal door open, and once standing inside, Laney allowed the troublesome object to clang shut. The redhead carried a flimsy cardboard box in one arm, and it appeared pretty heavy to Fanga – it was bigger than the pup! That didn't say much, though, since Fanga was astonishingly small…

Laney placed the medium-sized box on the ground with a relieved sigh. A variety of doglike items jutted out of the container: bags of kibble, leashes, treats, squeaky toys, stuffed animals. The box's contents interested Fanga, especially since so many foreign scents came from it. Some of the objects tantalized Fanga, but most of them appalled and even frightened the pup. What _was_ all that stuff, anyways?

After the bassist wiped a bit of sweat off her brow, tired from lugging the heavy box all the way there, Corey called out from the kitchen. "Hellooooooo? Lanes? Kin, Kon?"

"Just Lanes, Core…" With that, she lazily dropped onto the worn, crumb-filled couch of the garage and slumped into the fuzzy cushions, a stuffed hedgehog toy at hand. Laney's emerald green eyes soon spotted the teary-eyed pup on the other side of the furniture. A welcoming smile grazed Laney's lips and she firmly squeezed the dog toy in her hand, hoping to uplift Fanga's spirits by playing a bit.

_Squeeeak_

Fanga's eyes immediately centered in on the toy hedgehog. Her heart skipped a beat.

_Sssqueeeeeeeeeak_

The sound—alarming, thought-provoking, fearsome, exciting. The squeak reminded Fanga of the tittering of prey, except the toy emitted a more high-pitched squeak than what Fanga considered normal. Why was—?

_Squii-squii-squiieeee-squeeeeeeeeeeeakkkkkkkkk~_

Fanga's eyes dilated, and she lunged for the toy without a second thought. Her primal wolf instincts just couldn't resist.

When Corey dawdled into the kitchen, a bowl of lunch meat in his grasp, he nearly dropped it from what he witnessed. Fanga, a content grin stretched across her muzzle; Laney, sitting right alongside Fanga, petting the pup's back. "Whoa, Lanes…" It was all Corey could mutter, stunned on the spot. After isolating herself so much from the band, Fanga so openly accepted Laney's offering of friendship. After displaying such distrust, after all the barks and growls… Corey could hardly believe it.

Laney smirked at Corey once she noticed his dumbfounded expression."Told you that I'm an animal person," the redhead gloated, beaming.

"Uuuuhhh… well, good job?" Evidently still recovering from his shock, Corey placed the bowl of lunch meat on a nearby table. Something with Fanga suddenly seemed… off, in a way. To him, at least.

His eyes caught sight of the box of assorted items. The guitarist glanced at Laney inquisitively, his forehead wrinkled, eyebrows knitted. "What's all that stuff?"

"My mom bought dog things for me last night," she dismissively replied, slightly distracted by the adorable sparkle in Fanga's amber eyes.

"Really? Did she ask why or something?"

"I told her I wanted to donate to the animal shelter."

"You lied?"

"Uhh…"

"Nice!"

Fanga didn't heed their words – heck, she could hardly understand a thing they said. She didn't really notice them, actually. She carried a clueless gaze and her pupils were creepily enlarged. She playfully nosed the objects around her, oblivious to whether they were living or inanimate, familiar or foreign. Thoughts blank, emotions void: a completely different entity. In short, she fit the role of a stupid dog perfectly. It wasn't at all like her usual self; the wolf who loathed pets and civilization; the wolf who despised humans with all her being. Since the squeaks of the hedgehog toy had captivated her, Fanga's demeanor and personality altered, and there were no certainty on if she could change back.

Within minutes of Corey and Laney's lighthearted conversation, it was proved that Fanga _could_ break free from her dumb-happy state.

"….and I have the perfect name in mind," the bassist exclaimed merrily, peering up at her blue-headed bandmate.

"Wow," Corey remarked, his azure eyes glimmering with awe. "I haven't even thought about naming her…"

Sensing all the excitement radiating off the riled redhead, Fanga glanced up at Laney in curiosity, her head cocked to the side and her tongue lolled out.

"I'm naming her Coconut!"

Unlike with most of the conversation, the wolf pup understood that one sentence perfectly. The name sounded so sweet and casual and fitting… Fanga hated it. As abrupt as a streak of lightning, Fanga's pupils shrunk and her cheerful aura diminished. Rational thoughts had already begun flooding the empty areas of the confused canine's mind.

_COCONUT?! THAT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! YOU FILTHY HUMANS!_

…Well, slightly rational.

Corey and Laney stared at Fanga in surprise. Why was she barking like that? What caused her to become so angry?

The pup hastily leapt away from Laney's side, stiffly holding her ground on the other side of the couch. She glowered feverishly at the two, daring with those blazing orbs of goldenrod for Laney or Corey to inch closer, primitive growls rumbling in her chest.

Believing he knew the cause of Fanga's animosity, Corey calmly reached for the bowl of lunch meat on the table, his eyes careful to not snap away from the agitated pup. He placed the object on the floor, gently latched his hand onto Laney's wrist, and backed away with his best friend in tow. With Fanga's frighteningly serrated fangs on display for all to see, they both knew it was vital to keep some distance. Laney glanced urgently at the giant bag of puppy kibble in the cardboard box nearby, a silent protest for using the bland, nutrient-dense food instead of raw lunch meat, but she wouldn't argue with the seemingly rabid animal on edge. It wouldn't be too wise to exchange the meat for kibble at that point.

Fortunately, Fanga held off from pouncing at either of them as they cautiously moved around, the pup interested in their questionable actions. Why did they set that thing on the floor? What was it? Why did it give off such an alluring scent? Were these humans trying to harm her again? Regardless, Fanga swept her tongue around her lips as the heavenly scent blessed her sense of smell, her wolf instincts fully adoring the meal in the bluenette's hand. When Fanga confirmed that Laney and Corey wouldn't advance closer, she tumbled off the couch and crept up to the bowl, eyes widened, step by step, ears pricked, closer and closer…

With a final look at the guitarist and bassist, Fanga gorged on the pile of meat, savoring the sharp and rich tastes that flowed along her tongue. It tasted so much like the pieces of caribou and elk meat she ate back at the clan, except the toxic, coppery sting of blood never traced her taste buds. Without that acrid taste tainting the meat, Fanga found herself enjoying her breakfast more than she should've been.

Fanga guzzled down each and every scrap of ham and turkey, and she loudly burped when finished, causing Laney to giggle a bit. The canine wobbled backwards and sloppily fell into a sit, her back laxly leaning against the bottom of the couch. Since she hadn't eaten a single morsel for close to twenty-four hours, gobbling down all of that food made Fanga feel stuffed and bloated. Her instincts were satisfied, and so was her stomach. She couldn't even recall that earlier happy-go-lucky feeling in which controlled her, nor could she acknowledge the hatred for humans that wallowed in her soul. She didn't mind anymore… That breakfast was too extraordinary!

Corey and Laney exchanged a glance, and they sighed: what an episode. Neither would've ever guessed that pets could act so wild. If only they knew Fanga wasn't the average pet…

Nearly gasping, Laney realized how tightly Corey squeezed her wrist, so much that his knuckles drained white. From all of the tension, the blue-haired guitarist hadn't even noticed this until he caught Laney eying his hand, and their cheeks flushed with this realization. Corey instantly relieved his grip and they stepped away from each other, the two music-lovers bathing in awkward silence until—

_CLLLIIIINNNGGGGGGG_

They stared in shock at the garage door. There, heavily imprinted into the sturdy metal, were the shapes of a bulky drummer and scrawny nerd: Kin and Kon. Even their uncomfortably large smiles had been branded into the metal, irritatingly obvious from Corey and Laney's perspectives. The awkward feeling between Corey and Laney instantly deflated.

"Did they just…" Laney grumbled.

"Yep. Ran straight into the door," Corey replied. Laney rolled her eyes.

"I'll get the shovel," she deadpanned in a monotone, and she began scouring the garage for the aforementioned object. Corey voiced no protests.

It took about twenty minutes to pry the Kujira twins off the garage door. Opening and closing it helped somewhat in freeing them, but not by much. Laney and Corey were sweating when they finished, and the rough scraping of the shovel left a variety of bruises strewn across Kin and Kon. They all laughed in the end despite all the aches and bruises the twins had fall victim to.

Before attempting to aid her dim-witted bandmates, Laney had ushered the dazed Fanga into her new dog kennel. It had a roomier interior more so than the other that Fanga suffered nearly an entire day in the day before. Fanga didn't retaliate and obediently toppled inside the comfortable kennel, reluctantly resting on the large and soft cushion within. The pup was too full to rebel or argue about it.

Being sleep-deprived and having a full gut made a recipe for deep, dreamless sleep. Very few thoughts of escaping crossed the pup's mind as she dozed off, and it felt like only mere seconds had passed when Fanga's eyes flitted open. In reality, three hours had cruised by. Thoughts of the Wildflower Clan stirred Fanga awake and eagerness encouraged her to commence an escapade, but due to those wretched humans, she was trapped in some luxurious prison… _Auggh! I missed my chance!_ Instead of running off when the twins arrived, she had carelessly stumbled into that strange contraption for a stupid nap. How could she let sleep reign over her conscience? She could've rested all she wanted back at the Wildflower Clan! _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

During those three hours, Grojband practiced a few songs—mostly soft pop, not desiring to crudely awake Fanga with hardcore rock music—and hanged out as buddies in general. They had airplane races, soda-drinking contests, and similar events that Laney held no interest for. Most of the time, Laney lounged on the sofa with a magazine in hand, letting the boys mess around as she watched the sleeping pup in her cage from afar. Due to that, Laney realized before the others that Fanga had awoken, and she gladly opened the kennel's door after observing Fanga's rigid but not-at-all-hostile appearance. "C'mon, Coconut… Don't be shy!"

After grimacing at the name, Fanga warily exited her prison and distanced herself from the four. _Foul creatures…_ Fanga thought grumpily, utterly forgetting the incidents involving that toy porcupine and bowl of meat. Refusing to acknowledge the nice treatment she previously received, she stubbornly gave Laney the cold shoulder by stumbling away. The distrusting pup curled up near the garage door, oblivious to the imprints of Kin and Kon decorating it, and glowered at Grojband from the comfortable distance. _Stupid doors… windows? Ugh. Stupid humans confusing me. Stupid humans keeping me here. Stupid everything. I just want to go home._

Despite her saddened heart, Laney didn't pursue Fanga. With that sullen expression, the bassist thought it best to allow Fanga some alone time. "She's still adjusting," Laney whispered reassuringly to herself. "We'll all be great friend by the end of the week… I just know it."

Another hour passed. Corey, Kin, and Kon were well situated into boredom from exhausting their favorite games and contests. Laney didn't care for any activities they decided on, mainly since she just read another magazine if she disliked it, so the remaining three bandmates relied on everyone but Laney for something fun.

However, their ideas needed work. Much work.

"What about… a cheese-eating contest!"

"We're out of cheese…"

"Um, I could go buy some?"

"I'm broke."

"Me too."

"Same."

"…"

"…Paper airplane races!"

"We did that already."

"Oh…"

"Fun science experiments?"

"You're the only kid who can find science as _fun_."

"Hey!"

"Heh, sorry."

"Paper swan races!"

"Dang it, why can't we come up with anything good?"

"Hmph!"

"Maybe for the same reason you hate science."

"Uh…"

"Cuz you're stupid!"

"HEY!"

"Calm down, guys!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!"

"S-sorry…!"

_Why are they yelling over there? _Fanga thought with a pout. _Stupid… stupid humans… They need to be quie—_

Kon's eyes sparkled. "Hey, what about we play with Fanga?" Fanga's eyes darkened.

With a whoosh of wind, Corey grabbed a dull red leash from the box of junk Laney had brought over, his other hand grasping a leather collar shaded pleasant tints of pink. Fanga glared at the foreign items and thickly swallowed, panicked when guessing on their definition of _'a walk'_.

"Coconuuuuuut!"

The blue-haired guitarist stared Fanga straight into her golden eyes with an oblivious smile, jiggling the pink collar towards her zestfully. Before she could so much as utter an instinctive yip of protest, he already began skipping across the distance between them, the Kujira twins eagerly following suit.

"This'll be fun, Coconut!" Corey chirped.

"KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" was Fanga's terrified response. A very comical and amusing wild goose chase pursued.

Laney blinked uncertainly at the commotion. Her first instinct was to rush over and help, but… but the rest of the band needed time to bond with Fanga, right? Mentally resisting a dab of guilt, the redhead peeked shyly at an article in her magazine with girly clipart hemming the column.

_~Forty-two Signs a Guy is TOTALLY Crushing on You!~_

Laney glanced a final time at her three friends, which struggled to force that collar on the wildly yapping wolf, and then she stuffed her nose back into the magazine.

_Yeah… they need more bonding…_

"H… h-hold still, Coconut!"

"Rocklympus, she's a toughy!"

"GET THOSE AWFUL MITTS OF YOURS OFF OF ME, YOU SWINES!"

"Quick, the leash!"

"HEEEEELLLLPPPPP!"

**Welp, that was an eventful chappie. Faulty pacing to be sure, though… xD Heh, consider that Corney moment my present to you awesome readers for late Valentine's. And… uhhh… can't think of anything else to say. What about how Valentine's should be renamed to Single Awareness Day? Anyone else single out there…? Please don't tell me I'm alone…**

**HAH. Kiddin'. I actually had a Valentine this year. For once. :D IT'S MY GIANT STUFFED PUPPY TOY! His name's Kokoro… we watched romance movie in my room and gorged on dark chocolate.**

**Kokoro: Wo-woof! ^w^**

**D'awww, you're so cute, Koko. :D …HEY, GET YOUR EYES OFF OF 'IM! HE'S MINE! *Defensively holds up candy canes, which are sharpened into dreadfully sweet daggers***

…**You're not interested? YOU STILL CAN'T TAKE HIM! MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! O^O *Tosses the candy canes like ninja stars* MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNEEEE-!**

**Corey: *Jabs a sharp needle into my shoulder***

**Me: OW! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU- KOKO, SAAAvveee meee… rrrr… *Passes out cold***

**Corey: And she's sedated. :D**


End file.
